With a background working client-side and within agencies, Kat Cazanis saw a need for social media activity to be guided by the same consideration and measurements she used in digital marketing. Her agency, Nitty Gritty Digital helps clients large and small get excited about the web.

Starting Nitty Gritty

The agency’s first client was fashion brand Friends of Couture. “After developing a digital plan for the next six months, we refreshed their website, and used Facebook, blogging, PR and in-store communications to promote the new online store that was to launch on Valentine’s day that year – a romantic day for a romantic brand,” recounts Cazanis. “The response was overwhelming. Sales on the day from the online store exceeded the usual month’s takings from the old online store!  The brand has continued to go from strength to strength.”

Service offering

Nitty Gritty focuses on getting people excited about digital marketing and social media. “We’re planners, and believe that all good web presence has a strong strategy,” says Cazanis. The agency also provides training to clients on how to execute, resource and measure their online campaigns.

Cazanis brings together a team to suit each project. “While I’m still the face of Nitty Gritty, I collaborate with PR gurus, designers and developers on different client projects.”

Like working in a zoo

Cazanis recently worked with Zoos Victoria on their website strategy. “I’m really excited to see how social media networks will be integrated with their new site in order to spread the word about conservation of animals worldwide,” she says. 

“Zoos Victoria have such a strong brand with families and people interested in visiting the zoo as an attraction, however they’ve done some amazing work with animals – such as saving the Leadbeater’s Possum and the Eastern Barred Bandicoot from extinction and raising awareness of the use of palm oil. They have tapped into social networks such as Causes.com to further spread the word and garner support.”

Social

Cazanis offers this advice when it comes to social. “When planning a social media campaign, treat it like a communications plan. You need to identify the target market, the business goals and the key messages. I think we’re finally seeing a shift in how businesses approach their social media. There are more and more campaigns out there with firm objectives and timeframes for what they wish to achieve.”

Ones to watch

Cazanis writes the Nitty Gritty Blog. A recent campaign which caught her eye is the St Vinnies ‘Signed Finds’ campaign, where signed T-shirts are donated by artists and put into a St Vinnies store. “Facebook fans and Twitter followers are given hints as to which store each shirt is in,’ says Cazanis, “This is an interesting campaign, as it has demonstrated the dedication of their fan base, who not only check in via social networks with the brand but they are completing the call-to-action offline.”

She also recommends Servant of Chaos for industry news.

Trendy

As for trends for 2012, Cazanis says, “The website is no longer the only destination for a brand on the web, the web today is much more about shared connections and much less about siloed destinations, therefore I think we’ll see more and more brands using their website as a hub connecting to their other online presence – social networks.”

Cazanis anticipates brands will for the most part operate within social networks rather than build social applications hosted on their own sites. “Now days you can blog, fundraise and petition via social networks such as Tumblr, Pozible and Causes – to list only a few! These social networks can integrate with websites, and other social networks. The most advantageous part of using these applications is that most of them are social, and you can tap into their database,” she says.

Cazanis will be running the panel discussion Meet me on Facebook: Building and Engaging your Fanbase with Social Media panel during Brunswick Music Festival. Together with Matt Kulezsa (Rat vs Possum) and Ben Strong (Darren Sanicki Lawyers) Cazanis will discuss how social media can be used in the music industry. The panel will be held at Brunswick Mechanics Institute Performing Arts Centre, on Monday 19 March from 6.30pm to 9:00pm.